Report: Therrien to be named Habs' coach

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Report: Therrien to be named Habs' coachMultiple media outlets reported late Monday night that new Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has decided on a new head coach, and that it's believed the chosen candidate is Michel Therrien.

Multiple media outlets reported late Monday night that new Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has decided on a new head coach, and that it's believed the chosen candidate is Michel Therrien.

Therrien, currently a television analyst for RDS, first broke into the NHL as head coach with the Canadiens Nov. 20, 2000, taking over for Alain Vigneault.

He compiled a regular season record of 77-77-37 over parts of three seasons in Montreal. In his lone full season with the Canadiens in 2001-02, the team compiled 87 points and knocked off the favored Boston Bruins in the first round before being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Therrien was fired by the Canadiens in 2002-03 after starting the season with a 16-12-6 record, but winning just two of their next 12 games.

Therrien was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins to coach their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the following season, and was promoted to take over for Ed Olczyk in Pittsburgh on Dec. 15, 2005.

The Penguins missed the playoffs that season and were knocked out in the first round in Therrien's first full season behind the bench in 2006-07. But a year later, Therrien's Penguins reached the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings.

Therrien was fired by the Penguins and replaced by Dan Bylsma the following season, when they won the Stanley Cup.

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I don't have a crystal ball. Predicting is a real complicated thing. If we stay healthy, have enough depth and get the good goaltending we think we're going to have, you can go all the way. But a lot of things have to happen. There's going to be a lot of teams that think the same thing. Everyone made deals. We're all are optimistic about where we'll end up.

— Rangers general manager Glen Sather after being asked if he's constructed a team that can win the Stanley Cup before their 4-1 win against the Predators on Monday